Patchwork Vikings secondary kept lid on Ravens' aerial attack until overtime

BALTIMORE – Despite losing safety Harrison Smith just hours before kickoff of Sunday's 34-31 loss, the Vikings defense accomplished part of what it set out to do – limit Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson's speedy receivers from breaking open the game.

Only after Jackson wore down the Vikings defense with a relentless rushing attack entering overtime did the Ravens finally complete a pass thrown 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. And it was against another Vikings reserve, cornerback Kris Boyd, who replaced starter Bashaud Breeland before halftime due to injury.

"We were trying to prevent some big plays," coach Mike Zimmer said. "We got the pass interference that led to a touchdown, so that one was not that good, and then late in the game they hit [Marquise] Brown on a couple of throws."

With five minutes left in overtime, the Ravens got possession at their own 10-yard line. Brown, one of the NFL's fastest receivers, unleashed on a go route about 25 yards downfield before stopping on a dime and coming back toward Jackson. Brown left Boyd in the dust and made the catch for a 20-yard gain, sparking Baltimore's game-winning drive.

Jackson was otherwise 0-for-5 with an interception on passes thrown at least 20 yards downfield, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, as he settled for a pepper spray of short passes against the Vikings' deep coverage. It was enough to churn out 500 yards and 35 first downs.

That interception came from rookie safety Camryn Bynum, making his first NFL start. He replaced Smith, who has already been ruled out for next week's game against the Chargers, according to Zimmer, indicating the All-Pro safety tested positive for COVID-19. League protocols mandate unvaccinated players who test positive must sit out a minimum of 10 days.

Bynum appeared to read Jackson's eyes when undercutting Ravens tight end Mark Andrews' deep seam route for the pick in the second quarter.

"For the most part, he was in the right place," Zimmer said. "He had some mistakes, like the young guys do."

The pass rush helped the patchwork Vikings secondary. Jackson was hit eight times — including three sacks — despite Minnesota losing its best pass rusher, Danielle Hunter, to a season-ending injury last week. Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson had 1½ sacks.

But Jackson's elusiveness caused headaches, including during the 42-yard pass interference penalty on safety Xavier Woods near the end of the first half. Jackson scrambled away from the pass rush and tossed an underthrown deep ball to Rashod Bateman, who slowed up as Woods ran into him, causing the infraction. Jackson threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Freeman on the next play.

The mixed-and-matched secondary already included Cameron Dantzler starting for Patrick Peterson, who remains on injured reserve through at least next week's game at Los Angeles.

They also won't have Smith back by then, but perhaps Breeland can return from a bloody injury as he appeared to take a cleat to the inner thigh. Breeland, who returned only briefly in the second half when Boyd got banged up, watched the rest of the game from the sideline with a blood-spotted towel pinched between his legs.

"Those guys definitely stepped up, gave us a chance," linebacker Eric Kendricks said. "We were winning most of the time, but we got to finish. We didn't finish again. We find ourselves in these close games. We have to come through with these wins. We're not making it happen right now."